It's Yours to Keep
by shiningbind
Summary: Ganondorf has plans to take over the land of Hyrule, and this can only be fully accomplished by making Princess Zelda his wife. However, with Link working in the castle, he and the princess inevitably fall in love. With the help of the entire Kingdom, can Link and Zelda overcome the Gerudo King? Slightly AU. REPOST of the original.


Hi guys! This is in fact purplefirestarter. I am publishing this story from my new account (I am the original author of the story, don't worry). This is just the revamped version of the story, so enjoy!

* * *

A moment of peace.

It seemed that finding one of those was truly difficult. But it was such a beautiful day today, especially with all the rain that they had been having recently. It was in her garden that Princess Zelda was enjoying her afternoon. Sitting by the edge of her favorite fountain, she was looking up at the peach trees that were beginning to blossom. They were a beautiful, rich pink, matching her dress almost perfectly. Running her fingers along the cool marble, she was thankful for days like today, where she could relax if only for a brief moment in the sunlight.

"Princess" a voice called loudly from the archway. "Princess, you presence is requested in the throne room."

Of course it was, she thought to herself. One moment of peace and quiet and it was interrupted. Well, that was to be expected. It seemed that there was always something to do, even in such a time of peace as this one. Zelda stood up and brushed off the bodice of her dress. "Yes, I'll be there in just a moment."

As she slowly wandered back into the castle, the hem of her dress skimming lightly over the grass, Zelda wondered what called her attention this time. For a moment she wondered if it could be Ganondorf again, the Gerudo Prince who often times visited to speak to her parents. He had taken a slight interest in the seventeen-year-old princess, who was a bit uncomfortable with his strange, golden eyed looks. When she met Impa in the red carpeted corridor that led just to the entrance of the throne room, the look on her nursemaid's look told her everything she needed to know.

"Are my parents inside as well?" she wondered.

Impa just pursed her lips. "This is only for you, a visitor."

"Ganondorf?" she whispered.

Once again Impa said nothing, but her red eyes were sparkling. "Inside, Princess."

Zelda ducked her head and took a deep breath. When she had gone inside the throne room, she walked swiftly over to where the three large chairs sat in front of the stained glass windows. Her father's chair was the tallest, with her mother on his right and Zelda's on the left, the smallest but still just as ornate in terms of design. She sat down and crossed her ankles and a moment later she heard Impa call to someone and Ganondorf entered the room, as she had expected.

She had seen him many, many times, but Zelda was always very overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Gerudo man. He was bulky and tall, easily breaching six feet. His shoulders were broad—actually the widest part of him. He had rich red hair the color of flames and a long, crooked nose that protruded almost beak-like from his face. Today, he was wearing a cloak that trailed the ground behind him, giving the impression of his importance. He was also wearing a dark grin, something that told Zelda that he had what he thought to be a very good reason for meeting with her.

Their eyes met for a moment, before Ganondorf knelt before her crossing his arm over his chest in a sign of respect to the Hyrulian Princess. Zelda nodded her head curtly at him and he rose again, his figure was daunting even in the grand throne room.

"My dear princess." His deep voiced filled the room. "I trust you are in good health?"

Zelda nodded her head again. "I am. And yourself?"

"I am well indeed, Princess Zelda." He grinned.

"What brings you here today?"

His grin widened, exposing a row of clean, even teeth. "I have brought you a gift."

Zelda raised her eyebrows. A gift? Ganondorf had yet to start _actually_ courting her. In fact, she was hoping that this day would never come. Her mother had been hinting at the idea of a possible courtship between herself and him to unite the Hyrulian people and the Gerudos. Well, that and it was true that a male born to the matriarch tribe every one hundred years was destined to be king. But regardless of any sort of tradition, Zelda was very much surprised by his exclamation.

"Shall I show you?"

Zelda did not say anything, choosing to keep her thoughts on the matter to herself. She was, however, curious to see what Ganondorf could have possibly brought for her that would count as some kind of courtship material. When he called for the gift to be shown to Zelda, she was not expecting one of Ganondorf's men to come walking in, and he was not alone. He was dragging a…a boy along behind him.

His hands were bound at the wrists and sitting in front of him at groin level. The boy did not look up at the princess upon entering, merely at his feet in a look that Zelda could only see to be shame. She felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach. What kind of game did Ganondorf think he was playing, bringing her a _person_ as a present?

Ganondorf stood behind the boy and pushed him closer to Zelda so that he stumbled forward and fell to his knees before her. "This is Link," Ganondorf explained with a wicked gleam in his eye. "He is nothing, I can assure you. No family, barely any money to keep the clothes he has. I figured I'd do him a favor by bringing him here to you."

"And just what do you expect me to do with him?"

He laughed. "He can be your new servant, of course, Princess."

Zelda was watching the boy, who had yet to look up at her. "Lord Ganondorf," she began, "I can assure you that we have plentiful servants here."

"But none, as I was told, that work specifically for you. Unless you count Impa, of course. But he is to be yours and yours alone."

What on earth could she possibly need a private servant like that for? Impa was all she had ever really needed. But it would be disrespectful to refuse outright, and while Zelda could barely stand the man that was offering such a despicable gift unto her, she would not shame her family.

"Thank you, Lord Ganondorf," she finally said after a few moments time.

The man who had dragged the boy in was now ordered to untie him from his bonds. Ganondorf smiled up at Zelda, though she felt no warmth or compassion in his gaze. It was cold, almost antagonistic. So instead, Zelda sought to turn her attention to the boy who was now rubbing his wrists. Only then did he lift his eyes to hers.

He had bright blue eyes, almost like the color of sapphires. His hair was blonde, much like hers, though his was unkempt and fell freely into his eyes and spiked up at the top of his head. His skin was tanned and rough, more than likely from working in the sun. While his attire was exceptionally plain and that of a worker, his face was elegant and striking.

Ganondorf examined Zelda's expression as she inspected her new gift. He had hoped that an added servant, one that was solely for her own use, would allow her to warm up to Ganondorf as a husband. Well, not that he really needed her permission to marry her, that was up to her father the King. But still, he wanted to put on a show of things and make it seem like he was trying oh so very hard to get Zelda to fall in love with him. There would be other gifts of course, but he wanted to start out with something other than the traditional jewelry or horses, things he knew that she already owned.

Ganondorf then bowed his head and was granted permission to approach Princess Zelda as she sat on her throne. She extended her arm to him and he took her hand gently, his fingers engulfing hers. He pressed his lips to the delicate skin of the back of her hand and their eyes made contact. He was even larger up close like this.

"Enjoy your gift, my lady."

Zelda pursed her lips and knew that if she were to open her mouth, a few choice and un-ladylike words would exit her mouth. The nerve of this man to bring her a living being as a servant did not sit well with her. But of course she kept her hatred internal. She had done well up until now in keeping her feelings veiled deep inside, and it would be a waste to let something slip now.

Ganondorf turned to make his leave, his golden eyes accessing the boy named Link that he had brought for Princess Zelda. He was still standing there, not moving from the spot that he had been pushed to earlier. In fact, he was still on his knees. Such a sign of submission, it made Ganondorf sick. Had he known that he would turn into something so spineless, he would not have even made the offer in the first place to the boy. Feeling a sudden surge of hatred, he reared his leg back and sent a sharp, harsh kick to the side of Link's rib. The boy grunted and fell to the ground, clutching his side in pain.

"Ganondorf!" Zelda shrieked in horror. Forgoing any more acts of propriety, she stood up and quickly went over to where the boy now lay on the ground. Meanwhile, Ganondorf laughed darkly and turned to leave them alone, his henchman following suit quickly.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

The boy made another grunting noise but nodded his head. "Yes," he said in a hoarse voice.

"My apologizes, I didn't catch your name earlier…?"

"Link," he choked out, "my name is Link."

Zelda nodded once and watched as the boy struggled to his feet. Upon closer examination of his facial features, he looked very exhausted, and slightly underfed. Following suit, the princess stood up and noticed that at his full height, he did not pose quite as much a threat as Ganondorf did. He looked very normal and almost forgettable in comparison, if not for those eyes of his.

"I'm Princess Zelda," she said after a moment.

He smirked. "Yes, I figured as much." There was a slight hint of sarcasm.

"Shall we show the boy to his room?" Impa suggested, coming into the room as well. "We can introduce him to his duties tomorrow."

Zelda agreed and Impa motioned for Link to follow them and the three exited the throne room in a single file. Link was in the middle of the two of them, and twice he looked back at the princess, almost curious as to why in the world she would follow them to his living quarters. He supposed that if he was to be manservant that she was going to have to learn where he lived.

Finally they reached a hall that was only two away from where her chambers lay. Impa crossed her arms and turned to Link. "I'll go and fetch you some clothes." She accessed his current appearance and left them standing there.

Upon opening the door, Link saw that the room was larger than he had originally been thinking. It was still small of course, but had a twin sized bed in the right corner with a wooden nightstand beside it, a small dresser and a window that overlooked the distant Hyrule field. It wasn't much, but it was more than he had at the current moment.

"Thank you, Princess," he mumbled.

"You are welcome. Though I don't understand how in the world Ganondorf managed to get his hands on you as a servant, I don't want you to think that this is a place that you can easily escape from. I'm sorry to say that you're here to stay. However, I am not one to order servants around, Link, so I am happy to report that you won't have much to do for me."

Was she serious? He had heard stories about how cold and heartless the young princess was, but here she was telling him that she had little expectations of him. Not that she was being bubbly and out-right friendly, but Link was pleasantly surprised at her humility.

"I am sorry about this, actually," she whispered. "That horrible, horrible man probably forced you here. And to think it was probably because he thought this would benefit me."

Link dared to speak. "You don't like him?"

Zelda's eyes flashed in anger. "Like him? Of course not. I cannot stand him! And as an order, you are not to repeat that to anyone, understood?"

He nodded, understanding. Who was he going to tell anyway?

"He just likes me for my power and for my throne," she continued. "Unfortunately it's not like I am going to have any choice in the matter when it comes time to marry him."

"You're betrothed?"

"Yes," she answered darkly. "I will have to marry him come my eighteenth birthday." There was no feeling to describe the sudden emptiness in her stomach at the thought.

"I hope that things work out for you." Link gave her a very soft, gentle smile. It wasn't sarcastic like some of his earlier comments, but still Zelda was a bit wary about him. Regardless, she sighed heavily.

"I try you'll try to be comfortable, at least."

Link shrugged. "Anything is better than what I had before this, honestly."

Zelda raised her eyebrows but did not ask any questions. While a very small, childish part of her was excited about the prospect of having someone her own age to talk to, she knew the danger of getting too close to a servant. Still, there was that hope there, that hope that maybe instead of a servant that she could grow to have Link as a friend. But once again, that was a hope that she would keep buried in the back of her mind.

"Well, I think that's all there is for now. Goodnight, Link."

"Goodnight, Princess," he replied as she turned to leave.

"Please," she began as she walked away, "call me Zelda."

* * *

All righty, here it is!

(ah yes, I don't own the Legend of Zelda)


End file.
